During car accidents, your body can react adversely to the force that you weren’t expecting. Even in minor accidents, your neck takes a lot of stress as it moves forward then backward, causing whiplash. Your back may sustain damage to the soft tissue within the spine and muscles.
Chiropractor Specialists
Unfortunately, your body’s response to trauma is to release adrenaline and other hormones to mask the pain while you’re dealing with an accident or a different stressful situation. When the adrenaline wears off, your body is going to feel the effect of the accident. Chiropractors specialize in soft-tissue and musculoskeletal injuries to reduce pain and restore your natural flow of energy.
What Does a Chiropractor Do?
Chiropractors combine non-invasive therapies to treat pain in the body. A Brooklyn chiropractor uses careful adjustments that promote healthy alignment. Although the focus is generally on the spine, a chiropractor looks at the health of your nerves, ligaments, muscles, joints, and tendons to keep you moving better. A chiropractor wants to find the source of your pain or discomfort and treat it at the root cause, not by simply masking the pain with medication or surgery.
Chiropractors in Queens & Brooklyn, NY
Chiropractors are licensed healthcare practitioners who must complete four years of training to earn their doctor of chiropractic degree from an accredited chiropractic school. If a chiropractor wants to specialize in a specific area, they can train for two to three years. All chiropractors are required to take continuing education classes to keep up in their field. They are held to high standards of care to maintain their license to practice.
When Should You See a Chiropractor After an Accident?
Ideally, you want to make an appointment with a chiropractor in Queens, NY, within two to three days of your accident to start the process of healing. However, if you’ve missed that window, you can make an appointment with your chiropractor as soon as you feel pain and discomfort from the accident. The chiropractor can treat many kinds of soft-tissue injuries from an accident, from back pain, neck pain.
Schedule Chiropractor Appointment
Chiropractors will review your prior medical history with you as part of the first appointment. Your chiropractor will perform a physical exam and ask you about your symptoms. They may take x-rays or use other diagnostic imaging. Some chiropractors may request diagnostic tests to learn more about your auto accident injuries and health.
Once the chiropractor has information about your body and health, a treatment plan will be designed to help you start healing. Many times, you may get your first chiropractic adjustment before you leave your first appointment.
How Often Will You Need to See the Chiropractor After Your Accident?
Your chiropractor may want to see you three times a week for the first couple of weeks. Some people think that this is a lot, and on the surface, it does seem like too many appointments. What some patients don’t realize is that your body will heal faster as it maintains proper alignment. Chiropractic care is manual therapy. It takes multiple treatments for your body to get back to its healthiest.
The frequency that your chiropractor wants to see depends on your injuries, your overall health, and other considerations. Starting out with more frequent treatments can help your body heal quicker. Once you get your symptoms under control, you can drop the frequency you see your chiropractor.
Chiropractic Care
The length of your treatment depends on you and what your chiropractor recommends. Our office collaborates with your other medical specialists, from neurologists to orthopedists, pain management doctors, physical therapists, to provide comprehensive treatment for your injuries. We want to complement your other treatment to get you back to health faster and effectively.
Severe Injuries
It could take weeks or months for your body to heal and get back to normal alignment for severe injuries. Everyone heals at different rates, so it isn’t easy to name a standard length of treatment. Sometimes, in treating immediate pain from an accident, you realize that you have other injuries that the chiropractor could help with. You may decide to continue treatment as regular self-care.
Chiropractic Care Beyond Spinal Manipulation
Chiropractic adjustments are the most common treatment option from the chiropractor, but you have other options to treat your injuries with your chiropractor’s assistance.
Our office uses drug-free, non-invasive techniques that are safe and offer short- or long-term solutions:
- Heat and ice treatment
- Manual therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Therapeutic exercises
- Diet information the ot
- Relaxation techniques
- Braces or shoe inserts
We take a holistic approach to your health to help your body heal on its own. You will need to commit to returning for regular adjustments to your body. Our treatment plan is designed to help you recover as soon as possible.
How Long Is a Chiropractic Appointment?
Your first appointment may take up to an hour. The chiropractor needs time to talk to you about your medical history and injuries and time to perform the physical exam. After the first appointment, expect to spend 20 to 30 minutes at the office for an adjustment. You’ll want to wear comfortable clothing, but you don’t need to do anything special for your visits. You may feel sore after an adjustment, but these side effects are usually temporary as your body adjusts to new alignments.
Can My Chiropractor Give Reports?
If you’re working with an insurance company or lawyer to get compensation for your injuries, you may need to provide proof. Chiropractors are used to providing reports to different entities to demonstrate that you have been injured and are experiencing pain.
You may have to sign paperwork to allow the chiropractor to release information to other parties because chiropractors are bound by HIPAA laws and must keep your health information private unless you give them permission.
Make an Appointment To Discuss Your Accident
When you’re in pain from an accident, our doctors can help you with improved health. Our Queens chiropractors can help you understand how chiropractic care fits into your treatment plan after an accident. We accept some insurance plans, including worker’s compensation and no-fault. Contact us to get more information about what chiropractic care can do for you.
